SMALL ANIMAL HEALTH INFORMATION

Q: I HAVE A NEW PUPPY OR KITTEN. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE ME ON CARING FOR IT?
A: Depending on the age, most kittens and puppies will need to start off with a good quality kitten or puppy food, worming, flea control and vaccinations.

Worming against roundworms should be done every 2 weeks until the age of 12 weeks, followed by an “All wormer” at 4 months, then every three months through adulthood.

Flea treatment using Frontline Spray or Advantage can start from 2 days of age, and Advantage Multi, Revolution or Frontline vials can each be used from between 6, 7 or 8 weeks of age respectively.

Vaccinations are important for protection against viral diseases, which can be especially fatal in young animals. Vaccinations should start from 6 weeks of age in puppies and 9 weeks in kittens. In addition, having a vaccination offers a chance for your pet to be fully examined to satisfy you that your new pet is healthy.

Kittens and puppies should not mix with other animals or where animals may go until their primary vaccination course is finished, and this includes walking you dog around town and in parks. Adults also need to have regular flea treatment, worming and vaccinations to prevent these common problems occurring. And of course all animals, be they young or adult, should be fed a good quality food, have shelter and lots of attention including regular exercise for dogs.

Q: WHY DO I NEED TO HAVE ANNUAL VACCINATIONS?
A: Vaccinations are a way of creating a natural protection against viral diseases that are still present in NZ. The vaccine is actually an injection of a killed or damaged portion of the virus, which cannot cause disease, but will stimulate the immunity to ensure your pets defences are activated should it ever contacts the real disease. Maintaining this immunity is important because there are no medicines available which kill viruses, so stimulated immunity is vital to ensure your pet stays safe.

There has been debate in recent years about the ideal frequency for vaccination.This debate started in America, where there was some questions over potential reactions to the vaccines used there. Vaccine reactions are extremely low, especially in the vaccines used in NZ, but this started the question over how often they needed to be given. The simple answer, is that in NZ we don’t know. Much of the work on vaccines has been performed overseas, and there is little local work to support how long a vaccine will cover for. Given the extremely low risk of complications, and the high local incidence of some potentially fatal viruses, we are recommending yearly vaccinations until there is firm evidence that your pet will still be
protected sufficiently by a wider gap.

Regardless of whether you are getting your pets vaccinated yearly or not, it is always a good idea to present your pet for an annual health check which allows our veterinarians to examine your pets' health status and assist you in achieving optimal health.
 
Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “SUPERMARKET” FOODS AND “PREMIUM” FOODS SOLD AT VETERINARY CLINICS?
A: We see a very wide variation in the quality of feed given to pets. Poor quality feed can result in serious health issues (such as blindness), and will result in poor general health, including skin and coat condition and general energy levels. We always recommend that the bulk of the diet given is a “complete and balanced” food. These are foods that have undergone testing to show that they contain everything needed to maintain good health. Such foods will always state they are complete and balanced on the labelling. Make sure that you check the food label before buying any food for your pet. Complete and balanced foods can be dry foods, or moist foods like tins and pet roll. Raw meat alone is NOT a balanced diet for our pets. All foods sold at our clinic are complete and balanced. Some of the “better” supermarket brands are also complete and balanced.

However, premium foods like Eukanuba and Hills generally contain foods of a higher quality and which are more digestible. This means that your pet will look and feel healthier. Their skin and coat is generally healthier, as is their digestive system. They tend to have less waste in terms of faeces, and they can be “less smelly”. And because more of the food is used by your pet, you need to feed less. The per day feeding rates of these foods can be surprisingly competitive with other brands. Never compare foods on a weight for weight basis, you should look at the cost per day to feed your pet. For instance, dry foods are more expensive per kg of food but are 100% food compared with tinned food which is 90% water and 10% food. Therefore, you would need to feed roughly 10 times the amount of tinned food to give the same energy as dry food, and you need to take this into account when comparing their prices.

Why don’t you try a six week test of a premium food and see what a difference it makes!
 
Q: MY PET IS PUTTING ON WEIGHT, SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS?
A: Obesity in pets is becoming a great concern, with over 1/3rd of our pets now considered significantly overweight. Excessive weight can be detrimental in many ways, including exacerbating heart or chest problems and bone problems such as arthritis, increasing the risk of heat stroke in summer and increasing the risk of serious diseases such as Diabetes.

The trend for excess weight in our pets follows the trend of human problems, with poor diet and insufficient exercise. But because of their smaller size, even very small weight gains can have significant effects on their health. For instance, a cat putting on just 500gms would be about the same as us carrying an extra 6-8kg. And because they have different metabolism to us, even very small “tidbits” can cause large weight gains. For instance, feeding a small dog a single rasher of bacon is the same as a human sitting down and eating 44 rashers in one sitting, and a single biscuit is the same as a human eating a hamburger.

It is important for your pet’s health that you keep a regular eye on the weight and condition
score.

Ensure a well balanced diet with minimal “treats”. Pet roll is also a common cause of obesity, and it is best be used as a small part of the diet, rather than all of the diet. Also, feeding food scraps between meals can cause problems because you cannot accurately assess the total intake during the day. Have a food bowl to collect scraps during the day and give as a single feed, adjusting the biscuits etc. down based on the amount of food scraps given. Ensure your pet gets regular exercise. Part of the problem with weight gains is because pets don’t do enough exercise. This lowers both their calorie needs and their metabolic weight, making weight management more difficult.

If these steps are not helping, please make an appointment with our registered Veterinary
Nurses for our FREE weight clinic, and they can help you manage the weight loss.

Q: WHY ARE FLEAS SUCH A PROBLEM AND WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TREAT THEM?
A: Fleas are a small parasite that spends its adult phase on our domestic pets. After hatching in the carpets, the larvae mature through several stages, and then find a host. There they mate, and the female produces eggs. These fall off the host where they sleep and live, and the cycle starts again. Fleas can last for some time on your pet as long as they continue to take a blood meal by puncturing the skin. Unfortunately, the action of the sucking along with the crawling can be very irritant, and for some animals and even one flea will start off a reaction of scratching and biting that damages the skin still further. Many owners of very allergic animals swear they never see a flea, and this maybe true. It only takes one flea in these animals to start off a major reaction, and by the time this is noticed the flea is long gone, but the effects are not.

One other problem with fleas is that by the time they are noticed, there is already a major outbreak within the environment. 95% of the flea population lives off your pet, so effective flea control means using flea treatments that break the cycle to prevent new population explosions. Unfortunately, it is a common mistake to either use programs that are ineffective or to start control too late in the season when there is already a large number of unhatched eggs waiting to infest your pets. The problem is amplified in Hawke’s Bay, where the longer periods of warm weather encourage high flea numbers.

We recommend year round treatment with products that are effective and have a long period of action. Such products are; Frontline, Advantage, Advantage Multi and Revolution. These products kill for periods of 4-8 weeks (depending on the product), and offer serious control of the flea population both on and off your pet if used regularly. Products such as powders and washes kill the current adult fleas present but do nothing to control fleas the next day, so the cycle is allowed to continue.
 
Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY PET HAS BEEN POISONED?
A: You should always treat poisonings like an emergency. If you are fortunate enough to be aware that your pet has ingested a poison, please contact the clinic immediately for advice. In most cases vomiting can be induced, and if this is within 30-60mins of the ingestion many of the potential side effects can be avoided. Reducing absorption from the stomach in the first place is always the best option, but after 60 minutes it is likely that enough poison will be absorbed to have some effect, so quick action is needed.

Many of our common poisons have no antidotes, so once signs develop, we can only offer supportive care, to help the body eliminate the poison and to help reduce the effect of the toxins on the body. This is usually done by way of IV drips, blood tests and nursing. Many poisons commonly found around the house have the potential to be fatal. Of course, prevention is always the better option, so always be vigilant about poisons when pets are involved, and this includes when you are visiting other peoples' homes.

Some common poisons include; antifreeze, rat bait, slug bait, cleaning agents, paracetamol
(common pain killer), cyanide and organophosphates (commonly used in flea collars and powders). Some surprising poisons include; chocolate, coffee, onions and walnuts.
 
Q: IS THERE ANY ADVICE WHICH WILL HELP ME AS MY PET AGES?
A: Firstly, remember that 1 year of your pets life roughly equates to 7 years of your own. Therefore, they would be middle age at about 5-6 years, and approaching “elderly” at 9 years. The average life of pets now would be 12-13 years, with many pets now achieving 16 years or older. Good health care can help make these years both longer, and more enjoyable.

Many health issues are more likely to affect your pet as it ages. The most common of these would be; obesity, arthritis, cancer and dental problems. Watching your pet’s weight becomes more important with age as their metabolism slows and they tend to exercise less often. Increased weight, breed conformation problems and general wear and tear on joints are the main causes of arthritis. Some exercise (even for short periods) should be encouraged even in older pets. We have some excellent treatments available now, so please approach us if you think that your pet has arthritis.

Incontinence is a common concern for owners with older bitches. This can usually be very easily treated with hormone replacement therapy, so there is no need to live with incontinence, or to consider euthanasia.

If your cat is losing weight, despite having a good appetite, then it is possible it has hyperthyroidism. This is an over production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland, resulting in altered metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure. These in turn can affect your cat's weight, kidney health, and even sight. This is a common problem in aging cats, and is completely treatable with medication once diagnosed. Please speak to our vets if your cat is eating well but losing weight.

There are several diseases that cause increased drinking or urinating in older cats. Some of these are also treatable once diagnosed. Examples of common diseases are diabetes and kidney problems.

Cancer is more common in our older pets. Many of these can be successfully removed or treated, provided they are identified early. We recommend that any lumps are examined so that we can advise you on whether or not removal is needed.

Other problems that can develop with age are often picked up on veterinary examination, for example teeth problems and heart problems. We would recommend that your pet has a routine exam with a vet at least once yearly, or even twice yearly. This will be especially important if you have had problems previously diagnosed, or if your pet has developed new symptoms not present at a previous exam. It is also important to ensure that vaccinations are kept up to date in this age group, as their ability to fight disease will naturally decrease with age.

We also have a great range prescription diets which can help with various aspects of aging. There are lower calorie ones to help maintain weight, and prescription ones such as; Hills j/d (helps with joint arthritis), Hills n/d (can help reduce the progression of cancer) and Hills b/d (helps with reducing the signs of “senility”). Please feel free to speak to our staff about these options.
 
Q: MY DOG OR CAT HAS SMELLY BREATH, IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO?
A: Bad breath is commonly (but not always) caused by gum disease or tartar. Since our pets don’t brush their teeth, gum disease is common. Bacteria invade the space between the teeth and gums and cause; painful gums, loosening of the teeth and early tooth loss and smelly breath. In addition, these bacteria can enter the bloodstream and damage vital organs such as the heart and kidneys, resulting in early failure. So good dental management is important.

The first step you should take is having a dental check with our veterinarians. They can advise you on your individual needs. Some options for dealing with dental disease may be; dietary changes or have a scale and polish. There is also a very new vaccine which creates an immunity against some of the main bacteria involved, and this may be very useful in dogs that are prone to teeth problems or that need regular dental treatment.